Pet Sounds- is it over rated?

[RoundTheBend]

I think this was a good discussion. I liked to see the different opinions. Obviously there is that fine line between subjective aesthetics and aesthetics that can touch everyone because they are truly routed in Nature (Kant). I listen to an album like Sgt. Pepper's and then this one and I have a hard time appreciating the album as a whole. I love individual parts. I am very much a holistic album kinda guy and I just feel disjointed when I listen to this album. Not all albums can do that though and maybe that is unfair for me to say that all great albums should be holistic/complete pieces of music. Then there's the argument I read here that it is the best holistic album. Any of you that feel that way care to spend a bit of time explaining (like a total geek, I know, but I like this kinda stuff) the way it "fits" together? How does it flow? Maybe I am just blind. Because it is on the top of so many lists, I really want to appreciate it for what it is, and sometimes ignorance stands in the way of that.

Thanks Everyone.

[Error Finn]

[RFNAPLES]

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[Mr. Shankly]

[hairymarx1]

As far as I am concerned, there is no controversy in asserting that Brian Wilson (and Lennon-McCartney) were in their own way amongst the greatest songwriters of their era. There is also no denying that Brian Wilson was perhaps the first popular musician to excel in both composition and arrangement which was more akin to that of a classical composer. Many of his compositions and arrangements are undoubtably complex and the music on the album does represent a maturity of its kind. But paradoxically, as with much of the Beatles output, therein hides its flaws.

The album is essentially an ethereal atmospheric soundscape that nevertheless is essentially an extension of the vocal tradition that began with the Everley Brothers and ended with the folk-rock of the Byrds. Pet Sounds represents a significant part of this trajectory. However, in my view, this is illustrative of a kind of regressiveness in terms of the advancement of rock music.

The album is heavily formatted and as such it is harmless and unchallenging in the way that both the Beatles and, to a certain extent, the music of a band like the Byrds was harmless and unchallenging. Both the melodies and the pure tone of the singing on the album are ethereal. But for me this isn't enough. The guitar playing is the antithesis of virtuosity, and in Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys' frontman is the epitomy of mediocrity. In my view, the rich tapestry of eccentric sounds on the album is not enough to merit its much vaunted masterpiece status.

The construction of the songs seem as though they were made with a painstaking attention to detail in which Wilson emphasizes a fantasy element. I like the sound of trombone, harmonica, harpsichord, bells and violins on the album and unquestionably, the melodic and romantic components are engaging, particularly the French horn, harpsichord, bells, flutes and clarinet on 'God Only Knows' and the instrumental sonata 'Let's Go Away For A While'.

But that ought not detract from the fact that Pet Sounds is uneven and one of the most overrated albums of all time. It's not that its a bad album, far from it. But equally, its classic status has been greatly exaggerated. I certainly wouldn't consider putting this in my list of 100 best albums of all-time.